Cinch Up Your Chin Straps, It’s On! #Harvest2012 Nears The End …

#Harvest2012 is very rapidly wrapping up; Monte Bello may be finished as soon as today!

What occasioned all this sudden rapidity was the onset of very warm weather; suddenly, we couldn’t seem to pick fast enough.

I had the chance last week, in the middle of all the heat and bustling hustle, to check in with Monte Bello viticulturist Kyle Theriot, as the teams worked frantically to bring in fruit from what we call West Block; just over 4 acres of Merlot, planted at just about the highest point of the Monte Bello Estate; just under 2700 feet.

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We had doubled our crew size for the day, and in the heat and the haze, they moved through the rows with astonishing fervor, while Kyle strode the perimeter like a caged cougar; it’s not often I can find him NOT picking, and while he graciously took a few minutes to chat with me, it’s instructive to observe how often he keeps turning away to check the rows …

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Cinch up your chin straps, it’s on! -Kyle Theriot

If that ain’t #Harvest2012 in a nutshell, I don’t know what is …

And that said, please join me in thanking Kyle for taking a moment to share his time and his thoughts; it is through the largesse of he and all the extraordinary members of the vineyard and winery teams that we are able to deepen our understanding of, and appreciation for, just what goes into a bottle of Ridge Vineyards wine, and I for one am very grateful.